King of the Mountain

Chapter 71

100 Years of Preparation

I had the kids transform into dragons for safety and then did so myself. I watched as Walter climbed up on the back of Elvira for this flight. It was always fun to see who he would pick as his transportation. The kids called him Uncle Walter and often competed for his attention. As far as I could tell he tried to be random but equal in his attention and selection of transporter. I knew that the kids loved me and I gave them what attention I could, but my very nature meant that sometimes I was more distant than I probably should be. We really did not have anyone else except for Walter for them to interact with.

I wonder if companions can have familiars or pets themselves? What if they wanted to have families one day? I mean they were my companions and they travelled with me, so could I release them, or would the family have to travel with me also? Why am I suddenly so concerned about personal and family issues? Is this a side effect of me satisfying my inner dragons instincts? Does it want to raise little dragons now? This is starting to get strange.

I feel like there is some external force influencing me. I do not know when or how it started but something is not right. I have never entertained such thought in my now over 100 years of life, so why should I suddenly in the span of less than 3 months start worrying about such things unless there is something else going on. I am not having this issue with my actual flesh and blood daughter, only with my group. Is it mating season? Do dragons have a mating season? I need to focus and make sure that it does not negatively influence my decisions.

While I had been pondering all this we had traveled the few miles in the air until the dungeon. Nothing had bothered us on the flight. My Unique Perk Bloodthirst Aura should keep anything from attacking and it seems to be working. I try not to expect it to work 100% of the time. I have a feeling that there are always exceptions to the rules, or bugs, or just plain loopholes that the Great Game has. Whatever, the entrance to the dungeon looks to be similar to a tunnel in the side of the hill. Nothing unusual even if the planet is a little different. I have everyone transform back and we enter into the dungeon.

Welcome to the Tivon Terrors Mines. Suggested level is 600 with a party of 5.

Interesting. It is slightly higher than the advertised level the Great Game gave me. Which means that the boss should be around level 650 to 700. I guess that the levels provided only are for the free roaming monsters of the planet. My group easily transitioned into our normal dungeon diving formation and we started in. We spotted our first “Tivon Terror” after only about 50 meters. Identify.

Race: Tivon Terror Worker Level: 500

It looked something like an orange praying mantis. But something was subtly different besides just the color and size. I got it, there is an extra pair of legs. Instead of the six legs I expect on an insect monster this thing has eight like an arachnid. Oh well, new planet, new bugs I guess. Bruce take care of it. Bruce let it have a stream of fire and it went down quick enough.

“Alright everyone, it looks like even though they look different they are still easy enough to kill. We are all close to double their levels or more, so let’s try and speed run this thing. I want you to be safe though so if you see something different or unusual that you think the group should know please speak up.”

“Yes Dad.”

“Very Well Master.”

The next 6 hours were nothing new. We ran through this dungeon just like we would anywhere else. Other than the subtle body differences on the monsters there was nothing different. After 6 hours we reached the queen or whatever the Tivon Terrors had and defeated it rather easily. This was not really a surprise considering our level differences. I had wondered if the different appearance of the planet and the monsters would translate into a higher difficulty. It seems that intelligence is intelligence though no matter what type of form it is in. The attacks, behaviors, and strategies were predictable and with our high levels we conquered one of the highest level dungeons on the planet in an afternoon.

This was going to be less interesting than I thought. I am sure I will have fun exploring the planet, but I would rather just finish up the dungeon cleanup first and save the exploration for later in life. So that is exactly what we did. Over the next week we travelled from one dungeon to the next by flight and then conquered them all in 6 hours or less. The only reason it took a week was that the distance between some of the dungeons was huge and since I did not know the area, I could not teleport to them. However, now that I have flown all over my new world I at least have 5 solid references for teleporting around when I start to explore.

As soon as we exited the 5th and final dungeon I was greeted with a Great Game screen and some options I did not expect.

Congratulations on conquering planet Tivon. Mark Anderson is now granted title to the entire planet Tivon. Would you like to connect planet Tivon to another planet through the Great Game teleportation network for 250,000 mithral coins?

Those little buggers. Even after I paid for the planet and conquered it they wanted me to pay more to be able to get back and forth to it. I needed to warn the big powers about the extra charge. I selected yes and chose Earth as the location of the portal. Another message popped up.

Planet Tivon will continue to be classified as a monster world and kept out of the regular teleport network until the population reaches 100,000 beings. No other planet may invade until this planet is no longer classified as a monster world. Please choose your immigration and teleportation restrictions.

1. No restrictions, beings from all planets may immigrate at any level.

2. Level restriction, beings from any planet may immigrate once they reach the level selected.

3. Bloodline restriction, beings from any planet may immigrate if they have the selected bloodline.

4. Planet restriction, beings from only the selected planet or planets may immigrate at any level.

5. Owner restriction, only beings personally approved by Mark Anderson may immigrate.

6. Combination, you may choose a combination of restrictions.

I just had an idea. I do not know what has been influencing my decisions lately but I think I can satisfy it and my own tendencies. I will make this planet my own and only allow those I approve into it. However, I have enough resources to purchase a second planet, especially if I can find another one at a discount, and make it into a dragon world. That should shut up the instincts about family. Yep that is going to be the plan. I quickly select Option 5 and use the new teleporter to return to Earth.

“Jacob.”

“Yes Sire.”

“Please inform the council that there is a hidden charge to connect a new planet back to Earth. It costs an extra 250,000 mithral coins. They need to make sure that whoever goes across has the authority to use funds to reconnect it to the teleport network.”

“Yes Sire.”

“Next, I am going to leave a ton of random monster drops and material I have collected over the years that I want you to dispose of. Get me the best price possible. You can have 10% of whatever you negotiate.”

“That is not necessary my lord.”

“I know, but I want to do it so don’t argue.”

“Very well sire.”

“Fantastic, last thing tell each power that I will sit with their group on each planet for 1 month only. In this amount of time they need to have their fortifications built and ready to defend. Each month I am going to switch to another of the big powers. I will start with the Appalachia Kingdom and expect to be paid 500,000 mithral coins at the end of the month that I am babysitting them. I will start with that chore in two weeks so warn the council to be ready. That means you have just over 4 months to sell all the material I am going to give you. You might have to contact off planet to find enough funds.”

“Exactly how much are we talking about here sire.”

“Somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 tons.”

“You don’t even know how many pieces you just keep track by weight?”

“Well I used to keep track, but after a while it just all blends together. I collect it more out of habit than anything else. I haven’t used a dungeon material or reward other than money since I hit level 1,100.”

“Level 1,100 sire.”

“Yep that was a while back so now I just throw it into the old inventory. I just want to clear it out to make room for the tons of supplies I am ordering and the new drops I will get over the next 100 years.”

“Ok, sire I will take care of it. Where will you put it all so I can have it sorted and sold?”

“Good question, I know I will have Walter make a giant stone box warehouse in back of the palace and I will just dump everything in it. Have a couple of guards assigned to it. The material is of a higher level than you can get around here so it is probably valuable.”

With that I told Walter what he needed to do and he trundled off to the back of the palace. I teleported to where my daughter and her family was staying across the capital and let her know my plans for the immediate future. After telling everyone what was needed I sat down and started going through the Planets for sale section of the Great Game store once again. I wanted to find a planet that I could start for just dragon bloodlines so I would stop getting these instincts and urges. After browsing for 30 minutes I found one that I thought might work.

Planet Segmentia:

Due to the giant size of the flora and fauna planet Segmentia has been discounted to 4,500,000 mithral coins.

Average Monster Level: 250

Maximum Boss Level: 350

Surface area is 71% Land and 29% Water

Segmentia has no true ocean but is one continuous continent split up by vast river systems and large relatively shallow inland fresh and salt water seas all across the planet.

I do not know why, but this one just seems to resonate with me. It would have large unclaimed tracts of land and large animals and monsters to provide adequate food for dragons. It was a little lower level which should be good. From what I remember of the kids parents they were all in the 20-30 meter size range which would put them in the 200-300 level range. That means most adult dragon bloodlines should fit in nicely. My kids and I are abnormal and have reached a much higher level and size than normal dragons. With our size there should be no arguments about who is boss.

I came back to Earth with just over 10,000,000 mithral coins. I have spent around 4.5 million of that on supplies and the last planets teleportation hookup. That leaves me just under 6 million left. Yep that should be enough. I quickly purchase the planet Segmentia.

You have one year to either conquer all five dungeons marked on your complimentary Segmentia planetary map or to establish a colony of over 1,000 adults for 6 or more continuous months without replacements.

Next I teleport back to the palace, head out back to find Walter and dump everything unnecessary from my inventory into the warehouse he built so it can be sold. I message the kids to meet us at the main teleportation pad and Walter and I head there ourselves. It only took us about a week for the last planet so this one should be the same or faster as it is lower leveled.

As soon as everyone arrived I selected my new planet of Segmentia as the destination and we teleported away from Earth. We arrived in a dense forest. Huge trees surrounded us with giant ferns everywhere. It was not quite tropical, but it was quite warm. I recalled Walter and signaled the kids to stay in their draconian forms. We flew up above the canopy of the trees. The trees were gigantic. At least 50 meters tall and quite thick. As soon as we rose above the tops of the trees I heard a roar from my left and I quickly spun in that direction.

In the distance I saw a scene straight out of Jurassic Park. Giant reptile creatures grazing around a lake. I had bought a freaking dinosaur planet! This was awesome. No wonder the description read Giant Flora and Fauna. Even if you were an equivalent level unless you had size you would be at a disadvantage. This should be perfect for dragon bloodlines though. We may be smaller than some of the giant herbivores, but we should be at least the same size as all the predators. Larger prey meant an easier time hunting also. I bet some of those dinos would even make my 100 meter plus dragon body look small.

I quickly check my map and we start heading to the nearest of the five dungeons. I want to lock this planet down as soon as possible. As we approach the area where the first dungeon is located I see a shimmering portal in a field. It must be an instance dungeon. I thought instance dungeons were mostly low level. This might be interesting. When we landed I called Walter back out and everyone prepared to go dungeon diving once again. Oh I just had a thought, what if the dinosaurs had magic? Or what if they were aligned with an element? How freaking cool would a fire raptor be?

Ok calm down Mark. You do not even know if this is going to be a dinosaur dungeon. Breathe in, breathe out, go to your happy place. My happy place is now filled with dinosaurs!

“Alright everyone, this is like dad’s ultimate fan boy planet experience. I love dinosaurs. You guys might not understand, but if I start acting a little weird I just wanted you to understand the reason why.”

Esmerelda spoke up, “Dad what do you mean IF you start acting weird. You have been weird our entire lives.”

Everyone else chimed in and agreed. I pretended to look hurt.

“Walter even you?”

“Sorry master, you are a bit special.”

“Well then change that to if I start to act even more weird, or dread the thought normal.”

“Normal will never happen dad, but we will watch out for you just the same.”

“Thanks kids. Ok let’s speed run these things and become owners of Dino Planet.”

We entered into the dungeon’s shimmering portal.

Welcome to Segmentia Fields. Suggested level is 300 with a party of 5.

1. Retrieve Three Segmented Raptor Eggs

2. Defeat the Megasaur Pack

3. Find and destroy 5 Chameleonadons

Ok the Great Game must be trolling me. There is just enough difference in names that they could be considered different, but really how could Earth get so close? I remember then that those of us from Earth also knew about the fantasy peoples and monsters. There must be only so many types available in the Great Game database. I bet the knowledge just kind of bleeds over occasionally. It only took the kids and I 10 hours to finish up the dungeon. It would have been faster, but those stupid Chameleonadons were hard to find. I mean that is obvious in hind sight since the name resembles chameleons. I was having so much trouble locating them that I just finally set part of the forest on fire and killed anything that ran out. That was probably more destruction than necessary, but it worked.

The rest of the conquering phase of the planet was rather boring. This planet was only ¼ of my level and 1/3 of my kids. There really was nothing that could challenge us. It was fun watching all the different types of dinosaurs. I definitely am coming back here to explore later. Eventually we finished up the last dungeon after 8 days and saw a similar screen to the one after defeating all of the dungeons on planet Tivon.

Congratulations on conquering planet Segmentia. Mark Anderson is now granted title to the entire planet Segmentia. Would you like to connect planet Segmentia to another planet through the Great Game teleportation network for 250,000 mithral coins?

I selected yes and chose Tivon as the location of the portal. No one could get to this planet without first going through my own personal one. Another message popped up.

Planet Segmentia will continue to be classified as a monster world and kept out of the regular teleport network until the population reaches 100,000 beings. No other planet may invade until this planet is no longer classified as a monster world. Please choose your immigration and teleportation restrictions.

1. No restrictions, beings from all planets may immigrate at any level.

2. Level restriction, beings from any planet may immigrate once they reach the level selected.

3. Bloodline restriction, beings from any planet may immigrate if they have the selected bloodline.

4. Planet restriction, beings from only the selected planet or planets may immigrate at any level.

5. Owner restriction, only beings personally approved by Mark Anderson may immigrate.

6. Combination, you may choose a combination of restrictions.

This was what I was waiting for. I chose option 6 combination and used the bloodline restriction and level restriction. I set it so anyone or anything with the Dragon Kin Bloodlines and a level of 250 could immigrate. That should let them survive but still be challenged and will create a dragon and dino planet. That is going to be amazing in the future.

I finally felt my inner dragon settle down. I have provided everything it needed. A home, future companionship, and of course offspring already in my kids. It was time to finish my obligations to Earth and head back to the Dungeon Planet. This time it would probably be for good.

Over the next few months I fulfilled my obligations and traveled to the other four planets the powers of Earth wanted. It was not hard to protect them, in fact it was a vacation for me. Due to my high level and Bloodthirst Aura, monsters outside of dungeons never even came close to me. If I wanted a snack I had to hunt the things down. So I basically lazed around for four months and then collected a paycheck. I spent another two weeks reconnecting and then saying goodbye to my daughter and my grandkids. It was hard to say goodbye, but we both held on to the hope to see each other again in the future on Segmentia. Nicole said that she would work harder now that the kids were grown up to level up to meet the restrictions. Once she did with her bloodline, she would be able to immigrate.

After teleporting back to Dungeon World my group quickly settled into a routine. We would run twenty dungeons on each zone 1-4 for variety and then start the whole thing over again. Two weeks every year we would head over to zone 6 to run some higher level dungeons. This was to be able to make sure that we would not lose any levels. We still had to pay 1 experience level per year to stay in Dungeon world. This was going to be a routine that we kept up for 99 more years. I did not want to waste a single point when we entered back into zone 7-9. I had purchased enough supplies for at least 500 years and probably closer to a millennium. The production through magic was amazing and we easily stored warehouses worth of stuff in my infinite inventory. The money made on miscellaneous materials I dropped off with Jacob totaled over 50,000,000 mithral coins due to their high levels. So I was covered in every way possible when I return. We just had to finish out the 100 year waiting period.